clue English · revision 148

5 Oct 2026, 22:05 by bogdan “Add pronunciation, sense history, timeline, meanings, word family, related words” current version
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+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /kluː/^(Wiktionary)
+ 
  ==Etymology==
− A later spelling of [[clew]] “ball of thread or yarn”,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) [[inh|enm|clewe]],^(Etymonline)^(Wiktionary) [[inh|ang|clēowen|t=ball, sphere; skein]],^(Wiktionary) ultimately [[der|ine-pro|*glew-|t=to ball up, clump together]].^(Wiktionary)
+ A later spelling of [[clew]] “ball of thread or yarn”,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) [[inh|enm|clewe]],^(Etymonline)^(Wiktionary) [[inh|ang|clēowen|t=ball, sphere; skein]],^(Wiktionary) ultimately [[der|ine-pro|*glew-|t=to ball up, clump together]].^(Wiktionary) The spelling ''-ue'' arose when Middle English ''-ew'' words from French were respelled ''-ue'' and the change spread to native words such as ''hue'' and ''true''.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)
  
− The modern sense comes from the ball of thread that Ariadne gave Theseus to find his way out of the Labyrinth.^(AHD)^(Etymonline) The purely figurative sense “that which points the way” dates from the 1620s.^(Etymonline) The spelling ''-ue'' arose when Middle English ''-ew'' words from French were respelled ''-ue'' and the change spread to native words such as ''hue'' and ''true''.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ A ball of yarn or thread (1393).^(OED 1989)
+ 
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ The modern sense comes from the ball of thread that Ariadne gave Theseus to find his way out of the Labyrinth.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The purely figurative sense “that which points the way” dates from the 1620s.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''Not to have a clue'', “to have no idea”, is recorded from 1870 according to the OED,^(OED 1989) while Etymonline dates this sense to 1948.^(Etymonline) In crosswords a ''clue'' is the text indicating an answer (1914),^(OED 1989) and the verb ''clue in'', “to inform”, dates from 1948.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)
+ 
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1393 – “a ball of thread”.^(OED 1989)
+ * mid-15th century – the spelling ''clue''.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1590s – a thread guiding one through a labyrinth.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)
+ * 1620s – “that which points the way”.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)
+ * 1870 – ''not to have a clue''.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1914 – in crossword puzzles.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1948 – ''to clue in'', “to inform”.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)
+ 
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # Something that helps solve a problem or mystery, especially a piece of evidence.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # The text that indicates an answer in a crossword.^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)
+ # An idea or understanding, as in ''to have no clue''.^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ===Verb===
+ # To give someone guiding information, often with ''in''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[clueless]]
+ 
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[clew]]
  
  ==References==